Sunday, May 06, 2007

Maryland Sheep and Wool: Strip and Do Me!

Let's just say that all the hyperbole surrounding 'Maryland Sheep and Wool' is appropriate and commensurate with the utter kick-assness of the event. The hype is not missplaced...Where to begin?

Because a long and demanding semester has taken a bitter toll on my fragile nerves , the last thing I wanted to deal with was the mayhem and feeding frenzy (unless of course we're talking about funnel cakes) of a Saturday at MDS & W, so Little Peeper (Tween thing's knitting younger sister) and I decided that a Sunday visit was in order. Highlights included:

-watching a woman spin angora yarn from a rabbit sitting in her lap!? Peeper loved this and had many questions, including 'why doesn't he run away?'

-meeting up with other knitbloggers, including Frecklegirl Jess, who was in the midst of her exciting Ravelry whirlwind promotional tour. She and her posse were gleefully handing out buttons and promoting Ravelry, which is basically my new reason for living. She patiently explained that it will soon be ready for any and all to use but that at the moment she and her husband are working as fast as they can to get it ready for such a huge volume of users. She is such a friendly person and what she has created is so deeply impressive. Right on Frecklegirl!

-meeting the folks from Green Mountain Spinnery who introduced Peeper to an old fashioned device. No, not a ye olde spinning wheel; rather a 1980's sliding credit card machine! She was very intrigued...

-watching Peeper be interviewed for the LetsKnit2gether video podcast about knitting! Her killer line: "I prefer to knit only with corn....".

But please don't think that MDS&W is all fun and games. There were lowlights which included hearing people play hammered dulcimers (At a fiber festival? Do we have to?), seeing several creative anachronism people walking around in clothing made out of leather hides, experiencing craven fishwife types actually pushing and grabbing Socks that Rock at the Fold booth (?), and my personal favorite gaffe, celebrity stalking Eunny Jang in the IK booth:

Me: "Umm...ok...Endpaper Mitts were a ....really great project.....seriously, congratulations....bye...." (Awkwardly lingering around the booth to the point that confused daughter was giving me a puzzled 'what's your damage' type of glare.) No, not my finest moment. But those funnel cakes sure were the perfect antidote to my embarrassment!

I suppose you're wondering about purchases... Well rest assured, I did manage to acquire some yarn and other various and sundry items. But seeing as I'd like to wake up in the morning with my marriage intact, I'll leave most of it to your imagination, except these:

OK, I dropped some serious coin at the Crippenworks both. I have up until now convinced myself that I didn't really need needle cases. Then I saw the work of Katharyn Crippen Shapiro and quickly revised that notion. She is such a gifted artist with an eye for sharp, vintage-y fabrics. Score one for me!! DRMC: You know I love you baby, but sometimes a girl just has to get her knitting retail groove on, k?

This was my first MDS & W, so please excuse a newbie's unbridled enthusiasm. I am sure that you'll read many different accounts of the event, but I am here to tell you that these two chicks with sticks had an amazing day.

Wow! It sounds amazing. I particularly love the angora rabbit shot--I always get a kick out of the idea of spinning wool with the adorable little rabbit sitting on one's lap. Your daughter seems to have had a lot of fun, too! Very cool.

Oh that sounds like so much fun!! I've never attended a fiber arts festival. It's so great that your daughter is into it with you--very cool. Love the needle cases. As for the rest of it can't you pull the old, "What are you talking about! I've had this forever! You never notice anything." Always worked for my Mom (she was quite the fashion mave in her day).

Wow! It seems you had such an awesome time - lucky you! I'm a tad jealous here, we just don't have any such events over here and that sucks big, big time! Guess I'll just have to fly over for one of the next MS&W to have a look around there - it must be so absolutely wonderful! Thanks for sharing the time you had there with us - I adore the pics!

I love the needlecases you bought! The fabric is so beautiful, you're right. So, now you got to see how crazy it gets over at Socks That Rock booth:) Ususally, they sell out. You did have a great time and both are some cuties!

Nice to meet you Sunday. On the way home from the festival, I asked my niece to list her top 5 favorite things from the day. Meeting your daughter was on her list. Can't wait to see the interview on the podcast!

Very nice to meet you this weekend! Looks like you definitely had a fun time. I probably would have been nervous meeting Eunny too. I had to laugh about the credit card machine. Never thought about it, but one that young wouldn't really know what that was, would they?

This really cracked me up: "seeing several creative anachronism people walking around in clothing made out of leather hides"

I totally saw some of those guys last year when I was up in Vermont for a wedding. There it was raining and yucky, and they're out there bashing around in fakey chain mail and leather. We gawked and took photos for a good 15 minutes. I'm sure this encouraged them.